Texans DE J.J. Watt thanks support system for successful season

Texans DE J.J. Watt thanks support system for successful season

The 2018 off-season was spent rehabilitating for Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. But it wasn’t just from a fractured left tibial plateau in his lower leg that limited his 2017 campaign to five games, a season that unto itself was a rehab campaign from 2016 when his season was done three games in due to a herniated disc.

Watt’s 2018 off-season rehabilitation was twice as hard, twice as dark, and constantly had two paths before him.

“I mean, there were points in the last two years where I was sitting on my couch and thought about everything,” Watt said in his postgame presser after the Texans dispatched the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-3 Sunday at NRG Stadium. “I thought about never ever playing, period, again. I also thought about playing great again. You think about everything.”

However, when Watt decided to return for his eighth professional season since joining the NFL as a 2011 first-round pick from Wisconsin, it was his support system of family, friends, physicians, and trainers that helped him have a Pro Bowl season.

“To be here, to win a division, to play 16 games, get 16 sacks, to be out here with my guys, having a blast, enjoying it, I mean, it’s a testament to all the people who helped me get here,” Watt said. “There’s so many people who helped me get here, who helped me back from those two years mentally and physically. I’m so thankful for everybody that did it.”

2018 was truly the comeback campaign Watt had been seeking in 2017. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year produced 16 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and 18 tackles for loss. If not for Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s 20.5-sack season, Watt would be a favorite for his fourth defensive player of the year honor.

However, awards and accolades are not what Watt is after as the calendar turns from December to January, from regular season to postseason.

Said Watt: “I love that there’s still more football left to be played. I love that I’m a part of it. I’m thankful. It makes it that much sweeter. When you have something taken away from you, it’s that much sweeter getting it back.”

The Texans host the Indianapolis Colts Saturday at NRG Stadium for an AFC South rubber match, the first in the division’s history since its 2002 inception.

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